I Ate the Cheese*

*Lisa Rosa, a professor at Polk State College, led the Creative Writing Club, which I co-sponsor, in creating a parody of Kenneth Koch's parody of William Carlos Williams' "This Is Just to Say" (1934). Koch's parody, "Variations of a Theme by William Carlos Williams," appeared in Thank You, and Other Poems (1962).

I ate the cheese

and crackers you

were saving for the chili

you made.

Forgive me.

I need the food to

ease my anxiety and

I prefer my chili to

be cheese and crackers.**

**A true story. I knew I'd get in trouble, but my mother-in-law had brought Ritz crackers and cheddar cheese to go with the chili my husband made. It's good chili, but I really prefer cheese. I ate a lot of cheese and crackers in that one sitting. And, yes, my husband was greatly disappointed that none was left for the remaining chili.